US stocks rose 1 percent on Wednesday, advancing for a third straight session as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reaffirmed the central bank's commitment to keeping interest rates low and Yahoo rallied. Data showing Chinese economic growth exceeded expectations and US industrial production rose for a second straight month also improved sentiment, though Bank of America and CSX Corp sold off following their results.
-- Yellen reaffirms monetary policy support
-- Yahoo rallies after results; BofA falls
Yellen, speaking in New York, reaffirmed the Fed's commitment to keep interest rates low, even after ending its bond-buying program, as long as inflation remains below target and unemployment elevated. The Fed's Beige Book, a report of anecdotal information on business activity, showed that activity picked up in most regions in recent weeks. "These comments, while nothing out of the ordinary, reiterated the Fed's commitment to accommodative monetary policy, which is helping investors remember that there are more tailwinds than headwinds in the economy," said Kristina Hooper, head of US capital markets research and strategy at Allianz Global Investors in New York.
Yahoo was the S&P 500's biggest gainer, rising 6.3 percent to $36.35. While the company gave a tepid revenue outlook, revenue growth accelerated in the last quarter of 2013 for Alibaba , in which Yahoo holds a 24 percent stake. Intel shares briefly hit their highest since June 2012 a day after the chipmaker posted a quarterly net profit that exceeded Wall Street's estimates. The stock rose 0.6 percent to end at $26.93.
On the downside, Bank of America Corp slid 1.6 percent to $16.13 after the bank swung to a quarterly loss. CSX Corp fell 1.8 percent to $27.79 after its results. After the closing bell, Google Inc reported its quarterly results and its stock tumbled 4.9 percent to $536. IBM shares fell 1.5 percent after the bell following the release of the Dow component's earnings. The shares of American Express Co, another Dow component, fell 0.9 percent in extended-hours trading after the world's biggest credit card issuer reported its first-quarter earnings.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 162.29 points, or 1.00 percent, to end at 16,424.85. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 19.33 points, or 1.05 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,862.31. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 52.06 points, or 1.29 percent, to close at 4,086.23. The market has bounced back from last week's pummelling, when the S&P 500 posted its largest weekly decline since mid-2012. This week, the major US stock indexes climbed after results from Citigroup Inc and Coca-Cola Co, and as biotechnology shares rebounded.
While only 9 percent of S&P 500 companies have reported results so far, 57.4 percent have topped earnings expectations, below the long-term average of 62 percent. Only 53.2 percent have topped revenue expectations, below the long-term average of 61 percent. About 76 percent of stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange closed higher, while nearly 69 percent of Nasdaq-listed shares ended in positive territory. About 5.98 billion shares traded on all US platforms, according to BATS exchange data, below the month-to-date average of 6.95 billion.
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